Nihonbashi Otako Head Shop

Have you heard of Nihonbashi Otako Head Shop‘s specialty, Tōmeshi (tofu rice)? It’s just rice topped with tofu simmered in broth. I absolutely love simple, down-to-earth dishes like this. Ever since I read about this famous dish in an online article, I’ve kept this restaurant in mind. When I recently had a chance to go to Tokyo, I thought, “This is my chance!” and went straight there to try this tofu rice. So, what kind of place was this restaurant…?

Nihonbashi Otaiko Head Shop: A Tokyo Legend with Over 100 Years of History

Nihonbashi Otako Head Shop is a legendary oden specialty restaurant in Tokyo, boasting over 100 years of history since its founding in 1923. It temporarily closed during World War II but reopened in Ginza 5-chome in 1951. Due to redevelopment in Ginza 5-chome, it relocated to Nihonbashi in 2002, where it remains today. The current store is a four-story building. According to Tabelog, it has a total of 94 seats inside. The first floor has counter seating, so solo diners like me can feel comfortable using it.

I visited around 5 PM on a Saturday evening and luckily found quite a few empty seats still available. Being a restaurant in the business district, maybe weekends are less crowded than weekdays? But online info suggests it gets pretty busy, so don’t expect to walk right in without waiting. Also, they enforce a two-hour time limit, so lingering isn’t really an option. Nibbling on oden, having a quick drink, and settling the bill at just the right moment… that feels like the “proper Edo way (?)” and quite stylish.

I came here for the Tōmeshi, but I just had to try the oden too… How were all three dishes I ordered at Nihonbashi Otako Head Shop?

So, let me introduce all three dishes I ordered that day at Nihonbashi Otako Head Shop, one by one. Honestly, I was thinking “I’ll just have the Tōmeshi and head to the next place,” but the shop’s atmosphere made me feel like “I really should try the oden too…”

Small Plate Assortment (4 items, chef’s selection)

First up, the oden assortment. This assortment comes in three sizes: small plate (4 items), medium plate (8 items), and large plate (12 items). I ordered the small plate for ¥1,400 (tax included). What arrived was four types: daikon radish, konjac, fish cake balls, and a pouch filled with mochi. Daikon radish seems to always be included in this platter, and the remaining three items are selected at the chef’s discretion.

That said, every piece of oden that came out was quite dark from the soy sauce broth, right? I’ve never seen oden this dark before. Just looking at it, I could tell the soy sauce flavor must be pretty intense… Well, maybe it’s like the ramen at Shimpukusaikan – the color is intense, but the flavor might not be as strong as it looks.

Thinking that, I took a bite of the konjac in front of me. This oden is seriously intense. The soy sauce flavor was way stronger than I imagined. It wasn’t so salty I couldn’t eat it, but every bite made me crave a drink. To put it nicely, it’s the kind of flavor that makes beer go down really well. However, it didn’t have much of that dashi richness Kansai people tend to prefer. Also, the daikon radish, which is always included in the serving, was thoroughly heated through to the core. However, it wasn’t simmered slowly until it became meltingly tender, like the daikon at Bengaraya in Kyoto. Well, given how strong the flavor is, if the broth had soaked into the daikon until it was meltingly tender, just one piece might have made you think, “I’ve had enough already…”

Today’s Sashimi

So, today’s sashimi (price: 900 yen including tax) really saved the day as a palate cleanser. The fish that day was amberjack, and I could eat it just with the lingering flavor of the oden broth, no soy sauce needed. Also, the wasabi was incredibly important for resetting my palate. This was the first time I’ve ever felt so grateful for wasabi while eating sashimi.

Tōmeshi

And finally, the target of this visit: Nihonbashi Otako Head Shop‘s specialty, Tōmeshi (price: 460 yen including tax). It might not come across well in the image above, but the bowl is quite small, so it’s not as filling as I expected. The menu also offers a smaller Half Tōmeshi (price: 260 yen including tax), but seeing what other customers ordered, it really is just a taste-sized portion. Personally, I thought, “It would be nice if they had a large portion option too…”

As for the taste… it definitely left a nostalgic impression after eating. It’s a dish where you savor the oden broth soaked into plain rice and firm tofu. Since both the rice and tofu are naturally mild in flavor, the addition of the richer oden broth creates just the right depth of seasoning. They also pour a bit of broth over the rice itself, so it’s not just plain tofu from the oden plus rice. Emotionally, I think it shares something with tamago kake gohan (raw egg over rice) or ojiya (rice porridge). So, I believe you could make this tofu rice at home using your own oden and it would still be delicious. I don’t think “You absolutely must have Tōmeshi at Nihonbashi Otako Head Shop!”, but I am grateful to this shop for teaching me that this way of eating exists.

So, ordering three dishes plus one beer like this, the total came to just over 3,000 yen. Putting aside the higher price point compared to Kansai oden, eating here made me realize, “Tokyo oden is this richly flavored…?” Personally, it tasted even more intense than the broth at standing soba stalls in Tokyo stations. So, filling up on this oden alone is a bit tough for me. Instead, if you’re looking to nibble on this oden lightly while focusing on drinks, this place should fit the bill nicely.

You can enjoy the famous Tōmeshi even at lunch… Access to Nihonbashi Otako Head Shop is just a 1-minute walk from the nearest station, Tokyo Metro (Toei Asakusa Line) Nihonbashi Station.

At this Nihonbashi Otako Head Shop, they also serve lunch on weekdays, and you can enjoy their famous Tōmeshi even during lunch hours. The Otako Set Meal, featuring Tōmeshi and oden, is 1,700 yen including tax. The Tōmeshi Set Meal, featuring a simpler composition of Tōmeshi, miso soup, pickles, etc., is 1,300 yen (tax included). While the pricing is on the higher side for lunch, it’s just right for casually enjoying Tōmeshi. If you haven’t tried Tōmeshi yet, please give it a try when you’re in the neighborhood.

Now, here are the shop details…

It’s just a 7-minute walk from JR Tokyo Station.